^wow. that wheel color is awesome.
your wheel is an 11, mine is a 12. that explains (and shows) why the tire sidewall appears smaller.

 

For sure. I think both profiles look good.

Steve K - btw, love how your wheels look! really sharp. Are the outer lips custom painted a different color? Sorry for the off topic question. Feel free to PM me, just curious

 

mLife, thanks i love the color your wheels, my other wheels are painted that same color, but a few shades lighter.
the wheels are painted two tone just like OEM gt2 wheels.
the "lip" is painted silver, and the spokes are painted satin black metallic.

btw, i am finally manning up and getting a real DD.. looking at e46 330Ci (ALWAYS wanted it when i was younger)... im bout that m-life too lol

 

You were misinformed. Stock OEM 997 GT3 tire is 305/30/19 on OEM 19x12 wheel...Perfect fit.

305/30/19 on 19x12....

 

Excellent. Great info!

 

PWDRHOUND - Are your wheels true RUFF wheels? The car looks great! Do you run spacers on the rear wheels?

 

No. I sold my RUF wheels. While they were very nice, the RUF wheels are fairly heavy and the rears require the use of 35mm adapters on the wide body cars. Since I track my car and swap between 3 different sets of wheels, having to use adapters is impractical. The wheels in the picture are built by Champion. 19x9 and 19x12. Forged and very light, about 8 lbs lighter per wheel than my RUFs.

 

Haha. The e46 is a great platform and solid daily. I'd pick one up in a heartbeat so def recommend one! Good choice.

 

Agreed, i'm not digging big spacers on the track. So Champions with RUFF centercaps? They look great!

 

Ok, following up on this thread. I received my Forgestar wheels on Wednesday, the Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires became available on Thursday at Tire Rack, Friday I received the tired (Thanks to Damon at Tire Rack), and then Saturday got the tires mounted and installed the wheels.

Front Specs:
Forgestar CF5V Silver Semi Concave 19 X 9 +50
Michelin Pilot Super Sport 245 35 19


Rear Specs:
Forgestar CF5V Silver Deep Concave 19 X 12 +45
Michelin Pilot Super Sport 305 30 19


There is very slight rubbing at the rear fender liner and the front are very close to the spring perch (stock 996TT suspension still):








Final Thoughts:
I need to get some 3/4 shots to post and I don't have any real ride height numbers, but there is a 2.5 finger wheel well gap in the front and a 2 finger gap at the back. I will probably be researching lowering methods here next. The fitment at the front is pretty good. I don't plan on changing anything there right away, I'll just see if there are any signs of rubbing over time. Does any one see any major issues with the 3-4mm clearance with the spring perches? I could even shave down the perches slightly without adversely affecting their strength to gain some more room.

In the rear, it seems like 5-7mm spacers would take care of the fender liner rubbing. However, the fitment is already pretty square with the fenders. I have read about the 996 GT2 fender liner brackets. Would these solve my issues? I even had a friend suggest using a heat gun and some pressure to reform the plastic in the affected areas since it's very minor. As always, I appreciate everyone's input/insight.

 

You are fine with 3-4mm clearance on the front perches. GT2 fender liner brackets in the rear help as they create room at the base of the liner by the IC hose by eliminating the TT bracket attachment there. ET40 in the rear is ideal if you have rolled fenders. If you haven't driven you car hard yet with your new set up then you will find that you will rub the fender liners more when you do. The reason is the fact that with all the rubber in the suspension you will get quite a bit of movement of the rear end under hard braking which will cause the rear wheels to pull back and in contacting the fender liners. I used to have the same issues before going to full monoballs. Statically I had about 1/4" worth of clearance between the tire and fender liner yet after a track outing I would have a hole rubbed through the liner. The rear end moves around quite a bit with all the stock rubber bushings..

 

Well that sucks... i've got the exact same tire setup going on this week in the same size wheels and tires but mine are a +47 rear so mine will be 2mm closer to the inner fender so i guess mine will rub like crazy.

 

Thanks, yes the ET40 in the rear would have probably abated this clearance issue with the fender liner. In conclusion, I borrowed a heat gun, heated the area affected with the wheel/tire still in place, but the vehicle raised on jack stands. Then I stuffed a rolled up terry cloth detailing towel to apply pressure to remold the plastic, finally I quenched the area with a spray bottle of water and pretty easily gained the 5-10mm clearance I need.

 

Thanks for the info Jay! I have a heat gun so I guess that will be my course of action as well.

 

What are typical tire pressures for you guys on the street? Again:

Front Specs:
Forgestar CF5V Silver Semi Concave 19X9 ET50
Michelin Pilot Super Sport 245/35-19

Rear Specs:
Forgestar CF5V Silver Deep Concave 19X12 ET45
Michelin Pilot Super Sport 305/30-19